Sweetwater police: Man steals taxi cab, leads chase

Lazaro Castellon charged with grand theft, fleeing and eluding

MIAMI - A 33-year-old man stole a taxi cab, rammed a Sweetwater police officer, then led a chase into Broward County, according to investigators.

Police arrested Lazaro Castellon on Tuesday evening. He was charged with two counts of fleeing and eluding, grand theft, resisting an officer with violence, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to police, Castellon stole the taxi cab and a Sweetwater police officer tried stopping him in the Dolphin Mall parking lot. Instead, Castellon drove away, and officers found him again at Southwest 107th Avenue and 58th Street, where a second officer tried stopping him.

Castellon crashed into another vehicle in front of him and drove over the median to avoid police, detectives say. He then rammed into a Sweetwater police unit.

Castellon then drove onto Florida's Turnpike at a high rate a speed, police say. He exited at Miramar Parkway, where he eventually pulled into the parking lot of a Kohl's store off Flamingo Road and tried running away.

Police quickly apprehended him there.

Castellon remained in jail Wednesday afternoon.

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